These tents are cool. As well as camping/backpackinmg tents I love yurts/tipis/large tent like structures much better than stick built houses. It's nice to have a house that is movable and really doesn't cost near what a stick built or modular house costs. It's really interesting that there are a large number of quality tent makers of yurts/tipis/and canvas tents like the tents showen above. These are quality tents that are designed to last a long time under continual use if taken care of properly. Thou they will not last forever under constant use, they will very often last much longer in alot of circumstances that the thin materials used in the backpacking/camping tents. The compromise we make for weight I suppose.

The four dogs stoves apperar to be quality stoves in so far as not actually trying them myself. In my past life I had a wood/gas/pellet stove business in Colorado as well as being a chimney sweep for 18 years. their 26 gauge steel welded pipe, which is thicker than most stove pipe pipe sold at your local hardwear stores(28 gauge snaplock pipe) is ok but is still regular steel and will rust. They offer a Titanium stove pipe but that is rather expensive. A better option is stainless steel stove pipe if your not concerned about weight but wish to save money over the titanium pipe, and have pipe that may very well out live you or me.

I smiled when I read Tentsmiths is / are using Egyptian Cotton. There seems to be a lot of misinformation amongst our brethren here (Trailspacers) regarding cotton.

Ever since some moron declared cotton to be "death cloth", almost everyone bought that, hook-line-and-sinker.

Fools.

I have presently ditched my Gore-Tex rainshell, if favor of a Ventile Cotton Rainshell. I may eventually treat it with a DRW finish, but so far, not necessary. Incredibly comfortable, compared to my $200+ Gore-Tex "Pro Shell", which is like wearing Saran-Wrap.

Quite stylish, also. Not surprisingly, as it's made in Italia.

'Google' ventile cotton. Interesting that it is used in fabricating fire-hoses, and the coats firemen use.

In a deluge, I might add an umbrella. Imagine that! *Gasp !*

Did you know there are hiking-specific umbrellas? I use one. Part of my trekking kit.

R2 Did you lose money on some Gore-Tex stock? Or are your vegetarian ways expanding?

With the acclaim Gore-Tex has had, I object to the cost, and the fact that sooo many gear manufacturers (such as boots / shoes) include it as a default component. They rarely offer you the option of NOT having it.

It does do much of what it has been advertised to do.

Very seldom (other than here at TS), is the DOWNSIDE mentioned. It simply DOES NOT breathe well.

Interestingly, my dad and Bill Gore worked for the same company. Dad did not know him well, as Bill worked in R & D, and Dad was in another department.

If was generally known that Bill developed his ideas while working for this company, and the company required anything like this to be their's; and had employees bound to surrender their discoveries and findings, with signed contracts to the agreement. "Intellectual Property".

Bill Gore left that company, and went out on his own ... and, the rest is history. How Bill got away with this is not known. He was / is known to be a pretty slick dude.

If you are looking for historical tents, I have found Panther Primitives to be the best quality and they will work with you for customization. Their tents are historically correct for the period. We have a Mountain Man Rendezvous coming up in about a month, at which you have to be historically correct in tent, clothing, and cook gear.